bikes and things

Decent turn out. Bit of a write up from the Guardian on the background and reasons for the mass photo gathering.

Just found out one of my images from yesterday has been used on the Londonist Blog.

Photo of the Day: Plod – Londonist.

On my ride home yesterday I was thinking just how nice it was riding my bike during the winter months. the roads are relatively clear and it’s been fairly peaceful on the roads. a few things have really made a difference this year though. The first has been buying some proper winter tights. Having something thicker underneath as well as more material over the knee area has made an enormous difference. The other has been fitting full length mud guards to the fixed. Ok it doesn’t look too cool but it gets me to work relatively dry. So winter commuting isn’t so bad if you have the right kit.

This is very clever and I like it very much!

I’ve been following this issue closely for the last few days – mainly via updates from various photographers on Twitter. There seems to have been a fair few reported incidents this week of photographers being harassed by police even after the recently issued guidance to Police and PCSOs.

The good people at PhotographerNotaTerrorist.org have set up a protest for January 23rd. I will definately be going. More details on their blog.

…for SketchUp to do it’s thing I thought I’d write about a nice trip Emma and I had in the Park yesterday. After decorating the Christmas Tree went down to Dulwich Park in Dulwich Village which is much bigger than the one next to the flat. I’ve never seen so many dog walkers in my life. Anyway it’s a lovely park and here’s a few photos from our wander.

And this kid was hilarious. The bike was stuck in the waterlogged water and she just kept on pedaling throwing up this huge spray at the back.

A subject that I’ve been following closely over the last year or so. Nicely summed up in today’s Independant.

Sometimes I think I’d love to do this. Who cares if it’s wet, at least you’re outside.

The life and hard times of a London bicycle courier | Environment | guardian.co.uk .

On Weds Emma went to Paris with her cousin Jane. So without my sidekick I decided to have a bit of an explore round some of the finer places of South London on my bicycle. I started by picking up a few bits and bobs for Emma’s Birthday in Camden then back to London Bridge and headed East along the river path. I’ve done this route a few times before but not headed out this far. I went through Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Greenwich, past the dome (or O2 as it’s now called) and onwards to the Thames Barrier.

Cue cliché style picture of Thames Barrier. I dread to think how many similar pictures have been taken of this. What is most interesting about the trip so far is just how quickly the path by the river descends into quarries and factories. As soon as you leave the O2 then you’re going past industrial units and odd bad housing development. It really is an odd area. It completely lacks the cohesion of central London and feels distinctly suburban and very un-loved.

After the Thames Barrier I headed on past more broken windows and people smoking dope by the river to the Woolwich Ferry. Surprisingly it’s free for pedestrians and cyclists. Only takes a few minutes and you’re over in beautiful Woolwich. When I say beautiful I mean smelly, run down and just nasty really. Anyway, back West along a cyclepath next to the main road and on to the Thames Barrier Park.

Had been meaning to go and see this for a while. It’s a beautiful park in an otherwise grotty area. Had a bit of a rest here before continuing back along the river. On the North side it’s a lot harder to stay next to the Thames. I managed to pick up a trail every now and then but it was mainly roads. Bizarrely as I was going through the Isle of Dogs I stopped at a pedestrian crossing and waited for a guy to cross, the car next to me tooted and gave me the thumbs up! Thanks for stopping I guess.

Anyway, headed back to the City and down Bishopsgate and over London Bridge. Met Vaughan for a quick coffee and chat then went to meet Jim for some drinks in Camberwell.

It was actually a long old ride and was one of the hottest days of the year. Anyway, nice to see a different part of London.

Tube life, originally uploaded by Andy*Matthews.

Finally gathered enough confidence together to take some shots on the tube. Think I’ll have another go again soon.